Which to use
“imposed” is a verb and “improved” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,505
- “imposed” frequency rank
- #2,449
- “improved” frequency rank
- 7954
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imposed | improved |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of impose | That has been made better; enhanced. |
Where the eye mixes imposed and improved
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses imposed with improved
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: imposed is /ɪmˈpoʊzd/ while improved is /ɪmˈpɹuːvd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imposed is recorded at frequency rank #5,505, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpoʊzd/. improved is at rank #2,449, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪmˈpɹuːvd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 7954, this pair ranks #504,804 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of imposed vs improved
Shared letters: deimop. Private to "imposed": s. Private to "improved": rv.
"imposed" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "improved" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "imposed" for "improved" ever safe?
Frequency check: "imposed" vs "improved" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "imposed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "improved" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #504,804 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "imposed" and "improved" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "impaled vs imposed". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #504,804 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.